This object is a small, circular basket, with a diameter of
c.8.5cm. It expands slightly at the top and the base, and has two dark ‘bands’ which
go around the top and bottom of the basket. The top band isn’t perfectly round,
and has two fibre ties attached to it – these may have been an attempt to
repair the basket. Geometric patterns executed in a pale yellow and very dark
brown colours feature throughout (Figure 1).
Figure 1. The Hopi basket. Side (a) shows the outside bottom of the basket, (b) shows the inner side, and (c) and (d) show the sides. Author's own photograph (2019).
It is unclear what fibre the basket was made of, but yucca
is a possibility if the basket is indeed Hopi (Teiwes 1996, 61). The technique
used for the majority of the basket appears to be a kind of twined weave (Florian
et al. 1991, 94), and the dark brown colour was produced by dying the fibres
before use.
Unlike many objects in UCL’s Ethnographic Collection, there
is information about the basket’s provenance. However, the issue is that this
basket has three conflicting origins associated with it! The records of the
Wellcome Collection (where the basket was housed before coming to UCL in 1931) state
that it originates from the Belgian Congo (Figure 2); the basket’s current label states it
is Hopi (a Native group from the American South West); and the object’s index
card (Figure 3) suggests it could have come from an Eastern American woodland culture.
Based on visual characteristics, it was not possible to confirm its origin, but
the Belgian Congo seems most likely.
Figure 2. Detail from the Wellcome Collection's Museum Accessions Register, Vol.13. The basket belonged to Lot 1308, which came from the Belgian Congo. Image courtesy of the Wellcome Trust. Available at: https://wellcomelibrary.org/item/b18743699#?c=0&m=0&s=0&cv=4&z=-0.6524%2C-0.0861%2C2.3047%2C1.7222 [Accessed 28th January 2019]
Figure 3. The basket's index card in UCL's Ethnographic Collection. The pencilled writing reads: "This basket has been wrongly attributed to the Hopi who are desert dwellers. It is willow wickerwork, which is common in Eastern American woodland cultures.". Author's own photograph (2019).
Because of its interesting provenance and available documentation,
the basket has historic and scientific value. It may have been Daryll Forde, the
first head of UCL’s Ethnographic collection,
who changed the provenance of the basket, as he conducted anthropological
fieldwork among the Hopi (Fortes 1977, 462). Among Native American and
traditional Congolese society, basketry was – and often still is – inalienable from
social relations, spirituality, and identity. The indigenous repair on it also
suggests that it had significance for its previous owner(s). It is skilfully
made, and certainly has aesthetic value too.
Especially considering that it is at least 80-90
years old, the basket is in excellent condition. There are a few areas with surface
loss and wear, but there is no active deterioration (Figure 4). There is some dirt on the
inside and on some areas on the outside of the basket, but it is unclear
whether this is museum dirt or evidence of past use.
Figure 4. Areas of loss and dirt. Image (a) shows losses on the inside of the basket and (b) shows dirt on its outer side. Author's own photograph (2019).
Bibliography
Fortes, M. 1977. Forde, Cyril Daryll, 1902-1973. Proceedings of the British Academy, 62. Available from: https://www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/publications/forde-cyril-daryll-1902-1973
Florian, M.L, Kronkright,
D.P. and Norton, R.E. 1990. The
Conservation of Artifacts Made from Plant Materials. Marina del Rey, CA:
The Getty Conservation Institute.
Teiwes, H. 1996. Hopi Basket Weaving: Artistry in Natural
Fibres. Tucson: University of Arizona Press.
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